After adoption, it is very common to have difficulties teaching our puppy to go to the bathroom, or to the area chosen for it. At first it may seem very complicated to modify this behavior, however, with the appropriate guidelines you will be able to make your puppy evacuate in the right place, you will only need to have patience and be very constant
Also remember that puppies usually learn to urinate on the newspaper between 3 and 6 months, however, some take up to 12 months to achieve it. Keep reading this article on our site and discover how to potty train a dog, in the newspaper
Tips for teaching a dog to relieve himself in one place
Before explaining how to teach a dog to go to the bathroom, it will be essential to carry out a few previous steps and take into account some basic tips, otherwise, this process will not work. Keep them in mind and apply them all:
- The dog pen: this is a delimited space where we will leave our dog when we leave home and it will also be the place chosen to make the necessities of him. It must be a large space (it can even be a room) and it is very important to choose a quiet area of the house without traffic. For example, the hall or the corridor will not be good places, we better use a room or the dining room.
- Urinating times: Usually the puppy urinates when waking up, after eating and after exercising or intense play. These are the ideal times to bring him close to her area and allow him to urinate there.
- Always follow the same routines: regularity avoids stress and helps your dog to understand better. Therefore, if you always follow the same meal and play schedule, your dog will probably learn to urinate in the proper place sooner.
- Avoid punishment and reward successes: it is essential to understand that we can never scold a puppy for doing his business in the wrong place, we must remember that the error is ours for not anticipating or foreseeing that it will do so. On the contrary, we will always reward the correct answers, in this way we will make them remember better.
- Eliminates prohibited toiletsWhen the puppy relieves himself in the wrong place, urine and feces odors are left behind. to motivate you to do it again. This behavior is natural in dogs, and often lengthens potty training time. Eliminate those odors and apply a dog repellant made with natural ingredients.
- Go to the vet: the puppy needs to receive his first vaccinations around 3 months of age, for that reason and taking advantage of the visit to the specialist, it will be essential to consult with him all our doubts and rule out any he alth problem that is complicating this learning.
- Clean thoroughly: yes, never use products such as bleach or ammonia, it is preferable to use enzymatic products.
If you follow these tips you will rule out any he alth problem in your puppy and help him learn to urinate on the newspaper much faster.
How do I teach my puppy to pee on a newspaper?
Below, we explain everything you need to keep in mind to teach your puppy to urinate on a newspaper until he can go outside:
Puppy Pen Preparation
Once we have the structure of the puppy pen assembled, it will be time to cover the area with newspaper. Likewise, remember that there are other options that are not newsprint, for example, in the market you can find the " dog pads", special towels for the floor that absorb bad odors. You can also use artificial grass or other products.
Remember that the puppy pen needs to be big enough so that waste and urine are not near his food bowl nor from his house. Your dog will have to be in that room the entire time you can't supervise it. Of course, you have to leave him some toys (big ones, that he can't swallow) to chew on, his bed and his water bowl. Also leave her her food bowl if she's going to need feeding during the time you're away.
As time goes by, you will realize that your puppy prefers certain places to relieve himself. When you notice this, you can start reducing the wallpaper area.
Identify when your puppy wants to urinate
It is normal for your puppy to relieve himself at the same times, however, and if this is not the case, there are also body signs that we can identify and that will help you when teaching a dog to go to the bathroom:
- He walks very fast and nervous
- Sniff the ground
- Walks in circles
Others cry, look at their owner with a sad face… Training your dog also involves learning to understand the language of dogs. When you know that you are approaching the time or you see a signal take your dog to the chosen areaso that it is there where he relieves her. If you manage to take him on time and he pees, don't interrupt him, wait until he's finished to congratulate him, either with a treat, a caress or a kind word, anything goes as long as you use positive reinforcement.
Start shrinking the newspaper area
Over the days you will learn to identify your puppy's favorite areas to urinate in his dog pen. First remove some newspapers from the furthest place to those that your dog soils. That is, if your dog messes in the background, he removes the papers from the entrance. Then remove more newspapers each day, but don't rush this too much. If your dog messes somewhere that isn't wallpapered, it's because you removed the papers too soon. In that case, he rewallets a larger area, or even the entire room.
When your dog has got used to doing in a small area, you can start moving the papers to where you prefer. Move them slowly, no more than three centimeters per day, to the place you have chosen. Of course, do not bring the papers near their bed or their water or food containers. If you do that, your dog will stop relieving himself on paper
What if my puppy doesn't learn?
If for whatever reason you couldn't teach your puppy to go to the bathroom and, therefore, he doesn't relieve himself in the marked area, don't worry and first of alldon't scold him , he's not doing it on purpose. He rewallpapers the entire area and starts the process from the beginning.
Remember that if he is less than six months old, he won't be able to control himself for long. Some dogs do not achieve it until the year of life. Likewise, never leave your dog alone at home anywhere, you should always leave him at the puppy park.
What if I have punished my dog and now he is afraid?
It is very common for some owners to put their dog's nose near the remains of waste or dirty papers as a form of punishment. Apart from the fact that it is absolutely not recommended to do this, doing it will not help your dog understandmore, on the contrary, your dog will be afraid and will inhibit the attitude of him, as well as the possible learning of him. It may also happen that due to this method your puppy begins to resort to coprophagia, that is, eating his feces or licking his urine, mainly for fear of being scolded again.
Totally avoid the punishment of the life of the puppy and the adult dog, betting on positive methods and teaching based on rewards, as studies show that it is the best way to make them learn and remember. If you have punished your puppy and he fears you, try to regain his confidence by doing new exercises, games and activities, as well as rewarding him whenever you have the opportunity.
How to prevent a dog from urinating where he shouldn't?
During the training stage, there will invariably be accidents and sometimes your puppy will relieve himself where he shouldn't. To prevent urine and faeces odors from causing you to urinate in this place again, it is advisable to apply a repellent for dogs and, of course, disinfect the area well.
For repellents, we recommend you consult the article on Homemade repellents for dogs because they are completely safe and harmless. When disinfecting the area to prevent it from urinating again, it is essential to avoid cleaning products with bleach or ammonia because these only manage to encourage the dog to urinate again. So you should use enzymatic products
Remember that puppies do not fully master their potty training until after 4 months of age, so it is very normal for these accidents to happen. Don't worry and above all don't scold him, your pup isn't doing it on purpose. Try not to leave your dog alone at home anywhere, and when you leave the house always leave it in the dog pen.
The newspaper cannot replace the park
It is important to point out that having an area for the puppy to learn to relieve himself at home cannot in any case replace his walksAs soon as the dog can go outside (at first it must stay home for vaccinations), you should learn how to teach the puppy to walk outside. Setting a home zone is onlya temporary solution until the pup learns to control his bladder from it
Why is it important to walk the puppy after vaccination?
What we have just mentioned is very important for two reasons. The first is socialization, the process by which your puppy learns to relate to other humans, other dogs, and the world in general. If in the first few months the puppy does not go outside, he may develop fear and serious stressthat later will be impossible to redirect to normal behavior
The second reason is that, without realizing it, we may be teaching our dog to urinate only on newspaper. Although it may seem strange to you, there are dogs that refuse to relieve themselves in the park. It's normal, they've learned that they should only do it in the newspaper.
Once your dog has all his vaccinations up to date, it will be time to teach your puppy to relieve himself outside the home, that is, teach him to go to the bathroom again. It is essential for his well-being and socialization, don't forget it
